Hamilton goes unbeaten in Butte Central invite

BUTTE - Hamilton capped a successful weekend at the Butte
Central Invitational with victories over Eastern A Glendive and
Class B-C Cut Bank on Saturday.

Hamilton, which shut out Laurel and Billings Central on Friday,
beat Glendive 10-0 and Cut Bank 6-1. During the weekend, the Broncs
outscored their four opponents 23-1.

"I thought we played real solid this weekend," Hamilton coach
Steve Weston said. "We were missing two starters, but the other
girls did a great job filling in for them."

Class B-C powerhouse Frenchtown also had a solid weekend,
winning three games. The Broncs downed Browning and Conrad on
Saturday. Frenchtown lost to Cut Bank and beat Shepherd on
Friday.

Thompson Falls and Whitefish were among the other western
Montana teams having good weekends. Thompson Falls beat Conrad 11-2
and Shepherd 7-4 on Saturday. The Bluehawks beat Huntley Project
and lost by one run to Browning on Friday.

Whitefish went 3-0-1, beating Hardin on Saturday and tying
Florence.

Tournament host Butte Central went 5-1.

Butte Central 9, Columbia Falls 0: Erica Mahoney hit a three-run
inside-the-park home run to lead Central A Butte Central to a win
over Western A Columbia Falls. Kelsey Orizotti went 2-for-3 with
two RBIs for the Maroons, winners of the last two state Class A
titles. Melissa McReynolds and Kristin Werner had two hits for
Columbia Falls.

Missoula Loyola 4, Shepherd 1: Denise Hainline had an RBI single
in the first inning to help Loyola jump out to a 4-0 lead after two
innings and beat Class B-C foe Shepherd. Lynsey Evans limited
Shepherd to just two hits.

Ronan 14, Sidney 1: Charla Bick in a two-run home run in the
first inning to jump start Central A Ronan's victory over Eastern A
Sidney. The game was called after five innings because of the
10-run rule. Bick added a double in the win and Angie Patch went
3-for-3. Jenania McGreevey limited Sidney to just one hit.

Frenchtown 6, Conrad 3: Paige Lebsock and Aimee Sherry each had
two hits to help Frenchtown to a Class B-C victory over Conrad.
Conrad trailed 6-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, but Jodi
Gollehon hit a two-run home run to cut the lead. The game was
called after six innings because of the time limit.

Thompson Falls 11, Conrad 2: Kelly Taylor hit a three-run
inside-the-park home run in the second inning to help Thompson
Falls to a Class B-C win over Conrad. Catcher Leah Clark went
3-for-3 with a double and four RBIs in the win. Taylor, Anna Ivers
and Cadi Bierwagen each had two hits, and Kayleena Sparks drove in
two runs.

Thompson Falls 7, Shepherd 4: Leah Clark hit a three-run
inside-the-park home run in the fifth inning as Thompson Falls
notched a Class B-C victory over Shepherd. Rose Benton went 3-for-4
with a double, triple and an RBI for Thompson Falls, while
Stephanie Pirker, and Kayleena Sparks each added two hits. The
Bluehawks, 9-6 against B-C teams and 8-10 overall, won three of
four games at the tourney.

Glendive 5, Ronan 4: Kelly Unrein went 2-for-2 with two triples
and three RBIs to lead Eastern A Glendive to a win over Central A
Ronan. Glendive scored three times in the top of the fourth inning,
including two runs on an Unrein triple. Erika VanMaanen went
2-for-2 and Angie Patch and Athena Brown went 2-for-3 for Ronan.
Corinna Morigeau drove in two runs for the Maidens.

Butte Central 9, Polson 6: Polson scored six runs in the top of
the seventh inning, but it wasn't enough to overcome a tough Butte
Central squad. Sarah McClain and Crystal Cornett had two hits for
Polson. McClain had an RBI single in Polson's rally. Kelsey
Orizotti had a double and triple for Butte Central.

Whitefish 7, Hardin 1: Laura Harthan went 3-for-4 and Mae Clark
had two hits, including a triple to lead Western A Whitefish over
Eastern A Hardin. Whitefish scored five runs in the fourth inning.
The Bulldogs won three games and tied Florence at the
tournament.

Laurel 11, Libby 3: Holly Preston and Julie Wombolt each went
2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Eastern A Laurel over Western A
Libby. Lacie Vincent had two RBIs for Libby. Laurel scored five
runs in the second off of Julie Barnes and five more in the
sixth.

Browning 14, Stevensville 2: Mandy Burns and Jami Running Crane
each had triples for Browning as the Western A Indians drilled the
Central A Yellowjackets. Burns had three hits and Crane went
4-for-4. Burns limited Stevensville to just two hits.

Florence 9, Whitefish 9: Florence committed four errors in the
sixth inning and watched as Whitefish rallied from a 9-1 deficit to
forge a 9-9 tie. The game was called because of the time limit.
Florence pitcher Cassie Phillips struck out nine and allowed just
two hits, but was hurt by 11 Florence errors. Lisa Hays, Rachel
Sullivan and Holly Richards each had two hits for Florence.
Richards hit a come run.

Frenchtown 10, Browning 5: Traci Gibbs went 2-for-4 with a
triple and home run to lead Class B-C Frenchtown to a win over
Western A Browning. Frenchtown scored eight times in the third
inning. Dulcie Gillette went 2-for-3 with a double in the victory.
Mandy Burns went 3-for-3 for Browning.

Hamilton 6, Cut Bank 1: Melissa Weston struck out eight and
allowed just four hits to lead Central A Hamilton to a win over
Class B-C Cut Bank. Ashley Dutton had an RBI triple for Hamilton.
Bobbi Roseleip hit a solo home run for Cut Bank.

Belgrade 16, Stevensville 4: Eastern A Belgrade scored four runs
in the first inning and six in the second to cruise to a win over
Western A Stevensville. Tiffany Twyford, Melissa Pohland and
Christina Lohr had two hits for Stevensville.

Billings Central 15, Corvallis 4: Fay Bustos had three hits to
propel Eastern A Billings Central to a win over Central A
Corvallis. Central led 9-2 after three innings. Ashley Byron had a
home run for Corvallis.

Hardin 11, Corvallis 0: Melissa Roth struck out seven and
allowed just one hit as Hardin beat Corvallis. Nicole Murray had a
triple for Corvallis. The game was called after five innings
because of the 10-run rule.

Loyola 6, Conrad 4: Rachel Gilfillan, Jos Weber and Arielle
Ulmer had RBI singles for Loyola as the Breakers notched a Class
B-C win over Conrad. Loyola scored two runs in the bottom of the
fifth to break a 4-4 tie.

Hamilton 10, Glendive 0: Freshman pitcher Melodee Mildenberger
allowed just two hits as Hamilton downed Glendive. The Broncs led
7-0 after two innings. The game was halted after five innings
because of the 10-run rule.

Florence 5, Huntley Project 1: Cassie Phillips allowed just four
hits and senior Michelle Block drove in three runs to spark
Florence to the Class B-C win. Blocks' two-out, two-run single in
the sixth clinched the victory. Phillips also had two hits.

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